CRWH and CPWH In House Module Catalogue - Feb 2019-1 (1)

CW2105 Creating Short Screenplays
ASSESSMENT: 1 essay + 1 script
POSSIBLE TUTOR(S): Nick Joseph
Short films are a recognised ‘way in’ to filmmaking. Hundreds are made each year, all over the
world, popular, not least, because they’re relatively cheap to make, but at the same time provide
an opportunity to showcase talent and innovation in writing/directing/camerawork. Like the wellcrafted
short story, one-off short films can create extremely effective visual and aural narratives,
and are certainly different to feature films, just as short stories differ from novels.
In ‘Creating Short Screenplays’ you’ll have the opportunity to study this medium, and write a
short film script of your own. In the module:
‣ we’ll view and deconstruct several short films, identifying narrative structures and
devices, and delving into the myriad visual/aural options available to screenwriters of this
medium. At the end of this process, you’ll write your own narrative analysis of a chosen
short film (the first assignment)
‣ we’ll look at film scripts, to further develop skills in writing in script form
‣ we’ll work collectively, as a group, to map and write (from scratch) a short screenplay.
‣ you’ll write your own short screenplay (the second assignment)